Denver and the West

When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Roe vs. Wade, legalizing abortion, Valeria Jacobs was unable to register her protest because she was confined to a hospital as she struggled to defeat cancer.

The Denver woman survived that cancer scare and has participated in solemn annual protests against abortion on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade nearly every year since.

Despite needing the assistance of a wheelchair, Jacobs, 83, did not miss Saturday's remembrance of the landmark court decision.

She attended a Mass held by Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver. She protested abortion at the state Capitol.

And late in the afternoon, Jacobs and her daughter, Sandy Hoffman, were among the nearly 165 people who attended a prayer protest and pilgrimage from the Lighthouse Women's Center, a Catholic Charities nonprofit, to a nearby Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains in north Denver.

"It's important," said Jacobs, who, as many of the participants did, carried flowers that she set down at the entry to the drive of Planned Parenthood. "I always want to do this."

The annual protest is occurring at a time when abortion once again is making political waves in Colorado.

Colorado House Republicans last week unveiled a measure that would outlaw abortion and make it a felony for a health care provider to administer such a procedure. Democrats have attacked the proposal as interfering with "the private relationship between a woman and her doctor."

After placing a flower, Summer Urban, 7, of Highlands Ranch, kneels and prays outside the property of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post file)

The bill would make it a Class 3 felony for a health care provider to administer an abortion. The only exceptions would be if a doctor said the woman's life is in danger or if a doctor "provides medical treatment to the mother that results in the accidental or unintentional injury or death to the unborn child." The bill does not include an exception for rape or incest.

Colorado's secretary of state also has said Brady Ministries submitted enough signatures to get a question on the fall 2014 ballot that would redefine the words "person" and "child" in the Colorado Criminal Code to include unborn human beings.

Opponents of the initiative, including Planned Parenthood, have said the initiative is an attempt to deceive voters into believing state law allows individuals to get away with crimes against pregnant woman. They point out that penalties already exist for crimes that result in the loss of a pregnancy.

Democrats repeatedly have attacked Republicans as being out of touch with the views of women voters in Colorado. It's an electorate that political analysts say holds the key to electoral success, with women voters in the Denver-area suburbs having the ability to swing elections.

But for those like Jacobs who attended the events in remembrance and protest of Roe vs. Wade, people who want abortion to remain legal are the ones out of touch.

"It is important for each and every one of us to understand that the Lord has a unique mission for every human being," Aquila told those who gathered to hear him speak at the Lighthouse Women's Center. "He has a unique plan for every human being. And in abortion that plan from God is rejected, that plan from God is said no to."

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